Monday, January 12, 2015

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has admitted its first patients to a new Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC) in Kissy, an Ebola hotspot on the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone.With the highest Ebola caseload globally, Sierra Leone’s bed capacity for Ebola treatment remains insufficient to meet the needs of patients, specifically in new hotspots. Throughout the past few weeks, Ebola incidence in Kissy has skyrocketed, reaching some of the highest rates in the capital region.

“We wanted to move closer to the community and to the patients to improve access to quality Ebola care. This centre will also focus on maternal cases. Pregnant women with Ebola need special care and there is a clear gap in treatment for them in Freetown. We want to reach out to Ebola-positive or suspected pregnant women to provide both quality Ebola care and quality obstetric care at the centre,” said Marcus Bachmann, Head of Mission for MSF Spain.

Located on the school grounds of Methodist Boys High School, the Kissy ETC will open in a phased approach, starting with 20 beds for Ebola patients, followed by an expansion in bed capacity and opening of a referral centre for Ebola-positive pregnant women by the end of January.Finally, the ETC will open a triage for pregnant women, where Ebola-suspected pregnant women can be evaluated and admitted to the centre.The full capacity of the Kissy ETC and maternity will be 80 beds.

"Opening the Kissy ETC and maternity ETC will be a game-changer in this heavily-affected community. Now patients will be able to access quality Ebola care in their own neighbourhood." says Luis Encinas, Field Coordinator for MSF Spain.